


Halloween Is A Western Holiday! Why Are We Celebrating It?

by Arasei



Category: Gintama
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-14 00:59:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16483055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arasei/pseuds/Arasei
Summary: Led by Otae, the Yorozuya smash their way through the club in the usual blur of noise and color, but more surprising than their arrival is their choice in costume – or more accurately, the choice in costume of one person in particular.Like everything else in life, the boss has put minimal effort in his outfit, the only difference to his everyday clothing being a Jason mask currently worn around the side of his head. The Shimura siblings match in tacky vampire costumes that Otae wears gracefully and Shinpachi less so. And Kagura –“Our strongest whiskey, Sir.”Sougo reaches for the glass and downs the shot in one go. He coughs, the alcohol searing his throat and coating his tongue. “Another one,” he rasps, sliding the glass back across the counter, and the bartender looks at him funny before shrugging as if to say, ‘your loss.’He doesn’t really care. Without alcohol, he won’t make it through the night.-Halloween fic!





	Halloween Is A Western Holiday! Why Are We Celebrating It?

**Author's Note:**

> IT'S STILL HALLOWEEN IN SOME PARTS OF THE WORLD! I TECHNICALLY MADE IT?

The party is one hosted by Matsudaira, which is to say, it takes place at the cabaret club.

It is by far a lavish affair, but it’s one that enthusiastically embraces the Halloween spirit in form of cheap props and decorations. They cover almost every surface in uncontrolled excess, transforming the usually too-bright and shiny club into a slapdash haunted house that makes Sougo want to turn right around.

And in fact, he does just that.

“Now, now, Sougo!” Kondou laughs, catching him by shoulders and lightly tugging him back, “you can’t just leave! This is an event for all members of the Shinsengumi!”

Glancing warily at a disgustingly large plastic spider hanging from the ceiling, Sougo states, “Kondou-san, Halloween isn’t really my thing. I don’t need to be here just to watch you to hit on Anego.”

Mentioning Otae, however, is a mistake. 

At the name, Kondou lights up and proceeds to descend into an extremely long tangent about the woman in question, and any possibility of having a sensible conversation with his Commander about retiring early for the night suddenly dwindles into nothing. 

“-Ah, I wonder what costume she’s wearing tonight! What do you think she’d dress up as? Something cute, definitely-”

Sougo rolls his eyes. “Kondou-san,” he interrupts, “I’m going to get a drink.”

Kondou beams. “That’s my boy,” he says proudly, clapping a hand on Sougo’s shoulder. “Go on, then! Have some fun.”

Sougo departs for the bar with the resignation of a man walking to his death. He’s come to realise it would not be worth the risk to leave the party - if he can’t handle Kondou now, he surely will not be able to the next morning if his Commander decides to fill him in on what happened during the night, for it would be done with excruciatingly unnecessary detail. As loathe as he is to admit it, it is an infinitely better idea to get drunk tonight and be so hungover the following day that Kondou will hopefully take pity and spare him from a recap.

With that intention in mind, he asks the bartender for the strongest alcohol they’ve got. 

While he waits, he watches his fellow Shinsengumi members fall over themselves in the company of Snack Smile’s beautiful women. Many have peeled off layers from their terrible costumes, flushed from good wine and presence of company. His own division, Sougo notes, are mostly partaking in drunk competition, and he resolves to find a pretty girl and possibly drag her somewhere his alcohol-induced self won’t be tempted to join in.

This plan, however, is predictably spoiled with the appearance of the Yorozuya.

Led by Otae, they smash their way through the club in the usual blur of noise and color, but more surprising than their arrival is their choice in costume – or more accurately, the choice in costume of one person in particular.

Like everything else in life, the boss has put minimal effort in his outfit, the only difference to his everyday clothing being a Jason mask currently worn around the side of his head. The Shimura siblings match in tacky vampire costumes that Otae wears gracefully and Shinpachi less so. And Kagura – 

“Our strongest whiskey, Sir.”

Sougo reaches for the glass and downs the shot in one go. He coughs, the alcohol searing his throat and coating his tongue. “Another one,” he rasps, sliding the glass back across the counter, and the bartender looks at him funny before shrugging as if to say, ‘your loss.’

He doesn’t really care. Without alcohol, he won’t make it through the night. 

***

It’s unfair, Sougo thinks, that she should look so appealing in a _Kiki_ cosplay. He’s positive that she has no idea the movie is his favorite, but the arrogant smirk she’ll occasionally shoot his way throughout the night suggests otherwise. And it’s unfair, because nobody should look so fascinating in only a plain black dress and a red bow that horribly clashes with the vermillion of her hair, but the simple truth is that she does, and Sougo is reasonably upset.

It really is the height of unfairness.

He waves off another cabaret girl inviting him to join her group in a round of drinks and slumps in his bar stool, keeping to the bottle of whiskey the bartender had reluctantly given up. He doesn’t want pretty girls bending to his will. He wants Kiki. He wants Kagura to keep glancing his way. He thinks he’s seeing double.

“You’re wasted, yes?”

He sighs, blinking blurrily at his bottle of whiskey. “Yeah. You can talk?”

“It wasn’t the bottle who said it, idiot.”

Sougo looks up and sees a red bow floating in and out of his vision. “Mm,” he says. “You look like China’s bow.”

The head below the bow looks across the counter. “What did you give him? Can we make him drink more? Alcohol poisoning is a thing, yes?”

“Kiki’s too cute for China,” he murmurs, reaching up to tug at the bow. “She’s more like… Baba Yaga.”

His head sharply connects with the edge of the counter and he swears.

“Asshole,” the same female voice says, but this time, he hears it better.

“China,” he groans, and the hand that had slammed him into the bar lets go of the back of his neck. “You’re China.” 

His vision focuses a little more and he sees Kagura roll her eyes. “Yes, moron,” she says, leaning against a broom. It looks a lot like the one that belongs to the robot maid who works for Otose. “How long have you been drinking?”

Sougo sighs again, his breath smelling of whiskey. He straightens a little and spreads out his hands in meaningless gesture. “…This much.”

“That doesn’t even make sense, yes.”

He looks up at her and squints. “Are you real?”

Kagura makes an exasperated noise. “Of course I’m real, stupid-“

He drapes his arms around her waist and pulls her in. Her broom clatters to the floor. “Chi- _na,_ ” he sings into Kagura’s collarbone, unaware of her shriek. “You’re so unfair.”

“Let me go, Sadist!”

She pushes away his face and struggles to escape his hold, but he interlocks a leg around her own and she almost falls atop him on the bar stool. “Hey!” 

Sougo slides his nose along the fabric covering her shoulder, breathing in the smell of sukonbu and detergent. “It’s unfair,” he says again. “Kiki is so cute. Why do you have to look so cute?”

Kagura yelps and knees him in the groin, but far from letting her go, Sougo only shouts and falls out of his chair, accidentally dragging Kagura with him.

“Fuck!” Kagura shouts.

“Ow,” Sougo says.

The remaining members of the Yorozuya appear in the blink of an eye. “Oi! What do you think you’re doing to Kagura-chan, huh?” 

Sougo feels himself be yanked upwards, and reflexively, he tightens his grip around Kagura’s waist and she is pulled up with him.

“Gin-chan, make him let me go!”

“No,” Sougo protests, sliding back down and clinging to Kagura’s legs like a doll. “Kiki smells nice.”

_“Gin-chan!”_

A blur of white tries to rip them apart and Sougo groans some more while Kagura shouts in his ear. 

“Let go of her, Souichirou-kun!”

“Ah, Gin-san! Maybe be a little bit gentler-“

“Get me out of here, Gin-chan!”

The blur of white suddenly disappears.

“Oi! What do you think you’re doing, Mayora?! Let me go!”

From above, a familiar drawl responds, “you looked like you were trying to claw out Sougo’s eye.” 

Sougo’s nose is suddenly attacked by the smell of mayonnaise and nicotine, and he buries his face further into Kagura’s dress to overcome it.

“Hey!” 

Gintoki makes an outraged noise. “See?! Look at them! It’s disgusting! Make your brat let her go!”

Hijikata clicks his tongue, but the blur of white calms down and Sougo feels a pressure around his arm.

“C’mon, Sougo. I don’t want to have to charge one of our own for harassment.”

“Don’t wanna,” Sougo mumbles. “Kiki’s my favourite.”

Kagura stills in his arms.

Hijikata sighs. “Sougo, don’t be stupid. China girl needs to get home.”

Sougo looks up, glaring weakly in the direction of the floating cigarette next to his head. “Die, Hijikata-san.”

“Goddammit,” the cigarette mutters, and the pressure around his arm disappears. “Do with him what you want, Yorozuya. I can’t handle both him and Kondou-san tonight.”

“You’re just going to leave?! You barely did anything! I’ll cut off his arm, y’know! I’ll do it!”

The overpowering waft of nicotine fades and Sougo snuggles further into the warmth of Kagura’s dress.

“What are we going to do, Gin-san?”

“How am I supposed to know? We can’t actually break him – I don’t have enough money to cover a lawsuit.”

Sougo feels a hand hesitantly settle in his hair. He leans into it, and smooth pale fingers carefully glide along the planes of his cheekbones. He hears Kagura sigh. 

“Whatever,” she says.

***

Sougo wakes up to the color of vermillion.

The strands tangle over his chest, his neck, his face. Vaguely, he thinks it’s surprising he hasn’t yet choked on it. In the sunlight streaming into the room, the hair burns like glowing embers, and wary of fire, he’s about to move when he realises the pressure heavy on his shoulder. 

Kagura is drooling onto his jacket.

Her hands are fisted tight over the lapels, a pale leg thrown over his own. Her black dress pools lightly around her side of the futon, and Sougo blinks, his breath catching. He remembers whiskey, a red bow –

And above her head, there it is.

Kagura mumbles, shifting a little over his shoulder. The bow dislodges a bit, and his arm, wrapped around her tiny waist, twitches in reflex. Sougo feels his jaw tighten. He carefully lifts a hand, intent on feeling the warmth in the curve of her sun-splashed cheek to check whether he’s dreaming or not when somebody coughs overhead.

He looks up.

Gintoki and Shinpachi are grinning, sitting cross-legged before them with their hands closed tight over the hilts of their respective swords.

“Good morning, Okita-kun,” Gintoki says, tilting his head.

Shinpachi follows. “Sleep well?” 

Sougo thinks he might need to take a break from Studio Ghibli films.

**Author's Note:**

> Super quick fic to indulge my okikagu Halloween feels. Hope you guys had a good night of trick-or-treating!


End file.
